


What If

by molstrom



Category: Veronica Mars (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:26:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25256137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/molstrom/pseuds/molstrom
Summary: Don picks Veronica up from Shelly's party before anything bad happens. The story changes from there
Relationships: Don Lamb/Veronica Mars
Comments: 5
Kudos: 12





	What If

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like I say this a lot, but I love, love, love Leo. He just made a handy villain.

I was sitting at my desk when a call came in about a vandalized car outside a party. Normally this wasn’t something I would concern myself with (sounds like paperwork I don’t actually need to do), but I was bored so I told Sacks I would take it. When I got there I realized the vandalized car was Veronica’s. I debated leaving, after all, she hadn’t spoken to me since I took over as sheriff…but just because she didn’t want me in her life anymore doesn’t mean I wanted anything bad to happen to her, so I walked into the party. 

I started asking people right inside the door where Veronica was, but it wasn’t necessary. I spotted her on the couch trying to pry herself out of Dick Casablancas’ arms. She looked completely out of it, and I got to her as she managed to get away from Dick and curl up in another guy’s lap.   
“Veronica? It’s time to go home sweetheart.”

Dick stands up and gets in my face.  
“She’s having fun. Isn’t that right, Ronnie? She doesn’t want to go home. You’re not needed here, Sheriff.”  
“Dick, get out of my face or you’ll be spending the night in the drunk tank.”

The guy whose lap Veronica is currently inhabiting says:  
“She’s out of it, Sheriff. I think someone gave her something. I’ve never seen her like this.”

I push Dick back down onto the couch so I can get past him to pick up Veronica. I reach down and scoop her up, bridal style, and thank the guy before walking out of the party with her. As I’m putting her in the car and buckling her in she whispers:  
“Sheriff?”  
“It’s okay, Ronnie. You’re safe. I’ll take you home.”  
“Dad’s not there.”  
“I’ll take you to my place, okay?”

Her only response is to nuzzle her forehead into my shoulder.

By the time we get to my apartment, she is asleep. I carry her inside and put her down on the bed before taking off her shoes and covering her with a blanket. As I go to leave, she grabs my hand and mumbles:  
“Don…stay, please?”  
“I’ll be on the couch, Ronnie.”  
“No. I feel safer with you here. Please?”  
“Okay, sweetheart. Let me get changed first.”

I grab sweats and a t-shirt and head into the bathroom to change, then I climb into bed next to her, making sure to stay on top of the blankets. I can feel my body responding to having her in my bed, the way she smells is intoxicating, so I’m doing my best not to touch her at all (after all, she’s only 16 and has most likely been drugged). This should be easy, it’s a big bed and she’s so tiny, but she rolls over and curls into me, resting her head on my chest. Being this close to her makes it impossible for me to not imagine what it would be like to touch her, so I try to focus on decidedly not-sexy things. The thoughts that finally succeed in making my body calm down are the multitude of ways Keith would kill me if I touched his teenage daughter.

**************************  
**************************

When I wake up in the morning I can’t remember anything after getting to Shelly’s party. I open my eyes and realize that I am in a strange room and there’s someone next to me in bed. I start to freak out a little and then I realize that we’re both fully dressed, and when he rolls over to face me I realize it’s Don. I stare at him, taking a few deep breaths to calm down before saying:  
“Don…wake up.”

He opens his eyes slowly (I had forgotten how very blue they are) and says:  
“How are you feeling Ronnie?”  
“Out of it. I don’t remember anything.”  
“I’m pretty sure someone slipped you something. You were pretty messed up last night.”  
“How did I end up here?”  
“I got a call about a vandalized car outside a party. When I got there I realized it was yours. I went into the party to see if you wanted a ride home, but you were out of it, so I didn’t really give you a choice about leaving.”  
“Why?”  
“Why what sweetheart?”  
“Why did you take me out of the party?”  
“I couldn’t risk someone hurting you.”  
“Why? What do you care?”

He looks…hurt that I even have to ask that, but he answers anyway:

“I’ve always cared about you, Veronica. Just because I took over as sheriff doesn’t mean that stopped.”  
“But you stopped being there. You started putting Dad down, you stopped coming over. Mom left and you were nowhere to be found.”

He has a pretty intense look on his face and he reaches out, puts his hand on my cheek, and kisses my forehead before saying:  
“Oh, sweetheart…I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you after your mom left. What’s going on between your dad and I was not supposed to affect you. I’m sorry it has. But you have to know that I will never intentionally leave you in a situation where you could get hurt.”

I move away from him and get off the bed.  
“Can you take me home, please? I need to get there before Dad does.”

He stands up and walks towards me, reaching for my hands. I step back as he gets to me.  
“Veronica…”  
“This is just too much right now. I don’t feel well, I don’t remember last night, and I’ve spent the last few months thinking you hate me. I just need to go home. Please?”  
“Okay, Ronnie.”

**************************  
**************************

I go get changed into jeans and a clean t-shirt, then walk her out to the car to drive her home. 

When we get to her apartment I don’t see Keith’s car in the lot.  
“I’ll walk you to the door.”  
“Not necessary. I have an overprotective pitbull waiting for me.”  
“Veronica. I am walking you to the door.”

We get out of the car and walk towards her apartment. I notice someone sitting on the ground leaning up against her front door.  
“Who is that?”  
Veronica looks over at the person and says:  
“It’s Logan.”  
“Why is he here?”  
“I don’t know. He hates me.”   
We approach the sleeping boy and I move Veronica behind me before saying:  
“Echolls! What the hell are you doing here?”

He jumps up and says:  
“Veronica! You’re okay. Where were you?”  
“What do you care? You hate me. You convinced everyone else to hate me. Why are you here?”  
“Casey told me that he thought someone drugged you and that you left with the sheriff. I came here to check on you. But you weren’t here…Why are you just getting home now?”  
“Dad’s not home. So I slept at Don’s. Go home, Logan.”  
“I’m not leaving you alone with him.”  
“Okay, first: you’ve made it very clear that you hate me, don’t pretend otherwise. Second: if he was going to hurt me, don’t you think he would have done it when I was drugged and in his bed all night? Third: he’s leaving too. I’m done with both of you.”

Echolls and I both speak at the same time:  
“Ronnie...”

She looked at both of us and rolls her eyes.  
“Don’t Ronnie me. Leave. Both of you.”

She shoves past us to get to the door, opens it, and stands to the side as Backup comes out growling. Echolls takes a step towards Veronica and Backup snaps at him. He quickly steps back.  
“Backup chill. See? I don’t need either of you. Go away.”

Before turning and walking away, Echolls says:  
“Fine.”

I approach Backup and say:  
“Hey, buddy. Want me to take you out while Ronnie showers?”  
“I can handle it.”  
“Let me do this, then I’ll leave and focus on getting your car back here.”  
“Minus the graffiti?”  
“Yeah, minus the graffiti.”

Veronica thinks for a minute and then reaches in the apartment to grab Backup’s leash. She hands it to me and says:  
“After you walk him, you leave.”  
“Of course sweetheart.”

**************************  
**************************

I hand Don my house keys, go in the apartment, and close the door behind me. I lock it before heading to my room to shower and change. I hear the front door open and close while I’m getting dressed, so I’m not surprised to see Backup walk into my room when I open the door. I am surprised to see Don sitting on the couch when I get to the living room though.  
“Didn’t we agree that you would leave after walking Backup?”  
“Yes, we did. I changed my mind. Sit down, Ronnie.”

I sit down in the armchair and say:  
“What?”  
“When you were talking to Echolls you said that he convinced everyone to hate you.”  
“Yes. So?”  
“So why did you go to that party?”  
“I wanted to prove to them that they couldn’t break me. That I am still me.”  
“Oh, Veronica.”  
“How could I have chosen them over my Dad? That wasn’t even a valid choice. Why don’t they understand that?”  
“I don’t know sweetheart.”

He reaches over and takes my hand.  
“I’m sorry.”  
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”  
“I should have done more to stop your Dad before he publicly went off the deep end.”  
“He may have been wrong about Jake killing her, but I trust him when he says something about their story doesn’t add up.”  
“Veronica. Abel Koontz killed Lilly.”  
“I don’t think he did.”

I pull my hand away from him and say:  
“You need to go. Thank you for taking care of me last night.”

He stands up, leans over me, and kisses the top of my head before saying:  
“I’ll go, but I’ll be back later with your car.”

From the direction of the door I hear:  
“You’re not going anywhere, Don. We need to have a little chat about why you’re in my apartment kissing my daughter.”  
“I kissed the top of her head, Keith. It was innocent.”  
“Sit down, Don. Veronica, go to your room.”  
“No, Dad. I won’t.”

I move out of the armchair and sit on the far end of the couch, crossed-legged, facing the chair.  
“Don, come sit with me.”

Don sits down next to me (well, in front of my legs) and whispers:  
“Are you trying to get me killed?”  
“No. We’re going to explain why you’re here.”  
“All of why I’m here?”  
“Yes.”

Dad sits down in the armchair and says:  
“I’m listening Veronica.”

I put my hands in my lap and say:  
“There was a party last night. I decided to go to show Logan and everyone that they couldn’t break me. I don’t remember anything after getting there.”

Don reaches over and takes one of my hands in his. He continues the story:  
“We got a call about a vandalized car outside a party. I went to check it out and realized it was Veronica’s car. I went inside the party to check on her. To see if she wanted a ride home. When I got inside she was out of it. One of the people she was with thought that something had been slipped in her drink. I carried her out of the party and was going to bring her home, but she said you weren’t here, and she fell asleep in the car. So I took her to my house. She slept there and then I brought her home this morning.”

Dad just looked at us, sitting on the couch, holding hands, and said:  
“Someone drugged you?”  
“That’s the current theory.”  
“Who?”  
“We don’t know. Logan was here when we got back this morning. Said he was worried about me. So my guess would be, not him?”  
“So I don’t need to kill Don? He didn’t do anything untoward?”  
“No, Dad. He took care of me. This hand-holding is the most he’s touched me since carrying me from the car to his apartment.”

Don looks at me and then at Dad before saying:  
“That’s not entirely true. You snuggled into my chest while you were sleeping last night, but we were both fully dressed and my hands only went on your back.”

Dad looks at Don and says:  
“Thank you for taking care of her.”  
“Always, Keith.”

Don lets go of my hand and stands up. He turns to face me and puts his hand on my cheek before saying:  
“I’m going to go deal with your car. I’ll see you later.”  
“Thank you.”

**************************  
**************************

Over the summer I talked Veronica a few times, but mostly it seemed like she was avoiding me. I went over to their apartment one weekend I knew Keith was away, but she wouldn’t let me in. It wasn’t until 2 days after her 17th birthday that she broke down and called me. I had left a gift for her on her doorstep (chocolates I know she loves), so I got a voicemail thanking me. I didn’t see her in person until September when she came into the station to see Weevil when I arrested him. I saw her at the front desk (she cut her hair…when did she cut her hair?) and went out to talk to her.  
“Veronica.”  
“Deputy.”  
“Why are you here?”  
“To see Weevil. He didn’t do it.”  
“Do you have any evidence of that?”  
“Not yet, but I’ll get some. Can I go see him or not?”  
“Can you actually talk to me?”  
“I am talking to you. That’s what this is, you, me, talking.”

I step towards her and reach for her hand. She steps back, moving her hands away from me.  
“I’d like to see Weevil please.”  
“Go then. I’m not stopping you. But Veronica? He did it.”

A few weeks later I hear that she’s dating a rich kid at her school. Then I hear that they broke up. I have a few minor interactions with her over the next couple of months, but nothing major until Keith and I work a case together. Veronica comes by the station to bring Keith's lunch while Keith and I are interviewing a suspect. The asshole makes a sexual comment about Veronica and Keith slams him to the ground (I’ve never actually seen Keith move that fast or hurt a suspect before). When I looked out into the bullpen afterwards, Veronica was flirting with my new deputy (who was flirting excessively back). After she left, I went to talk to Leo.  
“She’s only 17, Deputy.”  
“I’m not that much older.”  
“She’s a troublemaker.”  
“Sheriff, are you trying to tell me that I can’t ask her out?”  
“If I was, would it work?”  
“Probably not. She’s hot and smart. Kind of a killer combination.”

I walk away from him, into my office and I close the door. I sit down at my desk and call Veronica.  
“Yes, deputy?”  
“You could just call me Don if saying sheriff hurts your family pride too much.”  
“What do you want?”  
“Don’t date Leo.”  
“Why?”  
“I just don’t think you should.”  
“That’s not a reason, Don.”

She hangs up on me and I don’t see her or talk to her again until I arrest her for selling fake IDs. While trying to prove to me that it wasn’t her, she sits in my office all day. I try, unsuccessfully, to initiate conversation, but she won’t talk to me. Finally, I close the office door and say:  
“Just tell me what I did. What changed after the party? I thought we were in an okay place.”  
“You didn’t do anything. I don’t want to talk about this.”  
“Veronica…”

I step closer to her and kneel down in front of the chair she’s sitting in. I reach out and take one of her hands.  
“Talk to me.”  
“You need to stop, Don. I’m dating Leo. Please stop this.”

I stop touching her.  
“Just talk to me then. What happened?”  
“I don’t remember the party…that night at all, really. But I have very vivid memories of waking up in your bed with you.”  
“Okay…So?”  
“So, it brought back my stupid crush on you. I’ve been avoiding you, hoping it’ll go away. Can’t you just be an asshole to me? Why are you being so sweet to me when we’re alone?”

I take one of her hands and bring it to my lips.  
“I’m sorry me being nice to you is making your life difficult sweetheart.”  
She pulls her hand away from me.  
“You should be.”

Just then my office door opens and Leo walks in, followed by that kid who said Veronica was making the fake IDs. Leo looks at Veronica questioningly and she slightly shakes her head. She proves that this kid is the one who made the fake ID by getting me to pull money out of his wallet. The top bill says: ‘Veronica Mars is smarter than me.’ (Unnecessary if you ask me.)

The next time I see her it’s through my open office door. She’s telling Leo she can’t see him anymore because she’s a mess, and that she just kissed her dead best friend’s ex-boyfriend, who she hates. (Echolls…I hate him too.)

The next time I talk to her I’m calling to warn her that Logan (who I’m pretty sure she’s dating) knows she gave me the evidence about his lack of alibi for Lilly’s death. I tell her to stay home with the door locked until I get there. She tells me she doesn’t want me and just to send Keith home.

The next time I see her she’s bleeding and bruised, suffering from minor burns. I can’t help myself, I walk up to her, right there in the middle of the street, and wrap my arms around her. She leans into me and wraps her arms around my waist, burying her face in my chest. I can feel her crying. I rub her back and say:  
“It’s okay sweetheart. Keith is going to be fine. You go to the hospital with him. I’ll meet you there when I finish here and I’ll take you home, okay?”  
“Okay.”

When I eventually get her home it’s late. She says:  
“Stay with me?”  
“Sure, sweetheart.”

She showers and changes her clothes and hands me a pair of sweatpants.  
“I stole them from Logan years ago. They should fit.”

I go and shower and change and by the time I’m out, she’s in bed.  
“I’ll sleep on the couch.”  
“No. Don, please. Stay with me. I just want you to hold me. I want to feel safe.”  
“Okay, Ronnie.”

I climb into bed with her and she curls into my arms, resting her head on my chest. I close my arms around her and kiss the top of her head.  
“Get some sleep baby.”

A couple of hours later there’s a knock at the door and we both get up. It’s Echolls. He’s clearly been beaten up. He tells us his side of the story, eyeing me suspiciously the whole time. There’s another knock on the door about 20 minutes later. Veronica gets up to answer it. It’s Leo, looking for Logan. Veronica opens the door the whole way and Leo puts his hand on her cheek, running his thumb over her cheekbone before he takes in everything in front of him. He looks surprised when he sees me in sweatpants and no shirt, but he manages to take it in stride. As he’s walking Logan out, I see him whisper something in Veronica’s ear though. After she closes the door I ask her:  
“What did he say?”  
“He made a snarky comment about how he wasn’t allowed to sleepover when we were dating but here you are.”  
“He tried to sleepover when you were dating?”  
“As he put it, he wanted a nice long look at my bedroom ceiling.”  
“So, not so much sleep with you, just fuck you.”  
“Yeah.”  
“I can fire him if you want.”  
“No, Don. I do not want you to fire one of the only good cops in your department.”  
“What do you want then?”  
“I want to go back to bed.”

She grabs my hand and pulls me down the hall with her. When we get to her room, she turns to face me. She continues to hold my hand, and with the tips of the fingers on her other hand, she strokes my chest and abdomen. My breath hitches and I can feel my body begin to react.  
“We should just go back to bed, Ronnie.”  
“Fuck me, Don.”  
“No. Sweetheart, you’re only 17. You’re a virgin. Your first time shouldn’t be with an old man like me.”  
“I’m old enough to make my own decisions.”  
“Yes, you are. And normally I would question this less, but you’ve had a very stressful day. You aren’t thinking clearly.”  
“Fine. Let’s just go back to bed.”

Once we’re lying in bed, she shifts in my arms. Next thing I know she’s straddling me and kissing me. Against my better judgment, I kiss her back. (God, she feels so good on top of me like this. She tastes so good, she’s so soft…) When she starts moving her hips against mine, I hold her still and stop kissing her.  
“Please, Don.”  
“No Veronica. This is not happening.”  
“But you want me. I can feel how much you want me.”  
“Yeah, I do. But it’s not happening.”  
She moves off of me, now lying on her back next to me she says:  
“Well, if you won’t help me, I’ll just have to help myself. You can stay or go.”

I’m about to ask her what she means by that when she takes off her pyjama pants and panties. She spreads her legs, draping one over me, and reaches down to start stroking her clit. I groan and say:  
“Ronnie…”  
“Orgasms make people feel good. You won’t help me get one, I’ll just have to do it myself.”  
“For the record, I didn’t say I wouldn’t get you off. I said I wouldn’t fuck you. The two things are not the same.”  
“Then what are you waiting for? Touch me.”

I lightly run my hand up the leg that’s draped over me, pausing on her thigh. She whimpers:  
“Please, Don.”  
I move my hand over her core, stroking along her slit up to her clit. She gasps when I touch her there, and she is soaking wet.  
“God, baby, you’re so wet.”

I place my hand over hers, learning the movements she likes before saying:  
“Let me.”

She moves her hand away and I take over, making tight circles on her clit while adding and releasing pressure. She squirms and moans. I shift my body so I’m able to kiss her, and kiss her I do. It’s rough and messy, full of tongues and teeth. She gasps and whimpers my name against my mouth when she’s close.  
“Don, I need…more. I want more of you.”  
I shift my hand so my thumb is working on her clit, and slowly slide a finger inside her.  
“Veronica…you’re so tight.”  
“More, Don…please.”  
I slide a second finger inside, crooking them both to hit her g-spot in the same rhythmic pattern as I’m using on her clit. I can feel her pussy contracting on my fingers, her thigh muscles shaking, and she comes apart screaming my name. I gently touch her as she comes down from her orgasm, then slowly pull my fingers out of her and move my hand back to her thigh.

My cock is so hard now it hurts, so it takes all of my willpower to say no when she rests her hand on it through my pants and says:  
“It’s your turn now.”  
“No, Veronica. I’m going to go take a cold shower.”

I get out of the bed and head into the bathroom. As I’m turning on the water I decide it’ll be faster and less painful to just take a hot shower and jerk off, so I turn the water to hot, take off my pants, and get in. As I take myself in hand, thinking about how good Veronica felt on my fingers, the door opens, and in walks naked Veronica.  
“No, Ronnie.”  
“I just want to watch.”

She walked over to the toilet and sat down on the closed lid. I continue jerking off, running my hand along my cock, thinking of Veronica.  
“What are you thinking about?”  
“You.”  
“What about me?”   
“How wet you were, how tight your pussy is, the way you squirm when you’re close, the sounds you make, how you screamed my name…”

My hand pauses as she walks into the shower.  
“What are you doing Veronica?”  
“I just want to be near you. I won’t touch.”

I put my other hand on the back of her head and pull her close to me so I can kiss her. As she gets closer, she puts her hands on my hips. As I kiss her, I continue jerking off, my knuckles brushing against her stomach with every stroke. I groan her name against her mouth as I come. As we’re washing off afterwards, I say:  
“We shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry, Veronica.”  
“Don’t apologize for making me feel good.”  
“I should have had more self-control. I’m the adult.”  
“Don. Enough. I am almost 18, I can make my own choices. I wanted this. Stop with the guilt.”

I kiss her and get out of the shower. I dry off and get dressed in my uniform. She gets out of the shower and wraps a towel around herself before saying:  
“Where are you going? You only slept for like 2 hours.”  
“I have to go in. Need to figure out what’s going on with Echolls.”  
“If they needed you, don’t you think they would have called you? Get a little more sleep.”

I lean over and kiss her, and then say:  
“I need to go, Veronica. Go get some sleep. I’ll lock the door when I leave.”

**************************  
**************************

He walks out before I can say anything further, leaving me alone. (I don’t want to be alone, that’s why I asked him to stay in the first place.) So I get dressed and leave the apartment. I get in the car and drive to the hospital. When Dad wakes up that evening, I’m sleeping in the chair next to his bed.   
“Veronica? Sweetheart? Are you okay?”  
“Yeah, Daddy. I’m okay.”  
“You should go get some sleep kiddo.”  
“No, I should go to the police station. Logan was arrested last night.”  
“For what?”  
“They think he killed Felix.”  
“What does Eli think?”  
“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him. He and the PCHers jumped Logan. He’s pretty beat up, and Felix ended up dead.”  
“You should talk to Eli.”  
“They’re going to make me choose between them.”  
“Probably at first, but talk to both of them before deciding which side to take.”  
“Okay. I’ll go talk to Eli too. I love you, Daddy.”  
“I love you, baby girl.”

I leave his hospital room and pass Don on his way in. He looks at me and says:  
“Veronica…”  
I just kept walking. (I was mad at him. He left me.) I pulled my phone out and called Weevil.  
“Hey Weevil. Can we talk?”  
“Hey V. You gonna try to convince me Echolls didn’t kill Felix?”  
“No. I just want to talk to you about last night. Will you meet me?”  
“Come by the house, V.”

I hang up and walk towards the elevator. As I get in, Don follows me.  
“Why are you going to meet Weevil?”  
“Because I want his story of what happened last night before I talk to Logan.”  
“We’re investigating. Stay out of it.”  
“They are both my friends. I am going to talk to them.”  
“Weevil is the leader of a gang. He shouldn’t be your friend.”  
“It’s a good thing I’m old enough to make my own decisions and you aren’t the boss of me.”  
“Veronica…”  
“He’s my friend, and in case you’ve forgotten, I had a bit of a rough night myself last night. I’d like to talk to him.”

I get out of the elevator on the ground floor and walk to my car. I’m not unobservant enough to not notice Don following me on the way to Weevil’s house. Weevil is standing on the porch when I get there, his face is bruised and he looks shocked when he sees my cuts, bruises, and burns. I walk up to the porch and he wraps me in his arms and kisses my cheek. He keeps me in his arms as we talk.  
“Why is the sheriff following you, V?”  
“He’s being his usual obnoxious self. Ignore him.”  
“What happened to you last night?”  
“Aaron Echolls. He tried to kill me. Dad’s in the hospital.”  
“Why?”

I step back slightly, so I’m still in his arms but I can see his face. I put my hand on his uninjured cheek and say:  
“Duncan and I found videos of Aaron having sex with Lilly. He killed her because she took the videos from his hiding place. He tried to kill me because I found them.”  
“Lilly was sleeping with him?”  
His eyes fill with tears as he says that.  
“I’m sorry, Eli. I’m so sorry. About this, about Felix. I know how much you loved Felix. I’m sorry.”  
He leans forward and softly kisses my lips.  
“I’m sorry Aaron hurt you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you afterwards.”  
“I’m okay Eli. Dad saved me. You want to talk about your night?”  
“Yes, but you should probably turn around and talk to the very angry sheriff approaching my house first.”  
“Ugh.”

I step out of his arms and walk down the path to the gate.  
“What?”  
“What? Really? What the hell was that?”  
“What the hell was what? My friend comforting me? Me comforting him?”  
Don growls and says:  
“He kissed you.”  
“Barely. You need to leave.”  
“But…”  
“No. You left me last night. When I needed you. After we…you left. You don’t get to follow me around now and complain about who I see and what I do.”  
“Veronica…”  
“Go do your job Sheriff. Figure out who actually killed Felix, because it wasn’t Logan.”

I turn around and walk back to Eli.  
“Can we go inside?”  
“Yeah. Come on, V.”  
As I walk into the house ahead of Eli, I hear this exchange:  
“I don’t know what you did you my girl, Sheriff. But I suggest you leave, now, before I find out.”  
“Navarro…tell her I’m sorry.”

Eli follows me into the house and directs me to his bedroom. He closes the door behind us and says:  
“You need to tell me what happened with the sheriff.”  
“Let’s not, okay? I don’t want to talk about it.”  
“What did he do?”  
“Let’s talk about your night. What happened on the bridge?”  
“Veronica. What happened between you and Lamb?”

I roll my eyes and lay down on his bed. He lays down next to me, his fingers intertwined with mine, but otherwise, he’s not touching me.

“Did you have sex with him, V?”  
“No…Still a virgin over here.”  
“Well, something happened, because I’ve never seen him as pissed as he was when I kissed you. And he asked me to tell you he’s sorry. So what happened? What did he do?”  
“I asked him to have sex with me. He wouldn’t.”  
“But something happened.”

I can feel him looking at me, but I keep staring at the ceiling.  
“We kissed. He fingered me, and then jerked off in front of me. No big deal.”  
“If it was no big deal you wouldn’t be crying right now, tiny badass.”  
“Right afterwards, he left. Like the house was on fire. He just…left me.”  
“So he’s sorry he left? It’ll be fine, V.”  
“No, Eli. He’s not sorry he left. He’s sorry it happened. He told me so before he ran away.”

He reaches over and turns my face so I’m looking at him, keeping his hand on the back of my head.  
“Then he’s an idiot.”  
“Yeah…Whatever you say.”

He leans forward and kisses me. Not like the soft brush he gave me on the porch. This kiss is deep and filled with heat. Like he’s pouring every part of him into it trying to make me understand how much he cares about me. When he pulls back he says:  
“Veronica. If he regrets getting to touch you, he’s more of a moron than I thought.”

I turn my body towards him and really look at him. His face is soft as he looks at me, his chocolate eyes filled with love.   
“Eli…I didn’t know.”  
“It’s okay, V. Why did you ask him to have sex with you?”  
“I wanted to be in control of my first time. Wanted it to be with someone I trusted and felt safe with.”  
“So not Lamb in particular?”  
“No…why?”

He just looks at me.  
“You’d do that for me?”  
“Yes, Veronica…I’d be willing to make the giant sacrifice of fucking you.”  
“We could still be friends after? Even if we don’t end up dating?”  
“Veronica…I love you. I will jump through any hoops you need me to in order to stay in your life. Even if it means watching you date an idiot like Echolls or Kane again.”

He rolls so his body is facing me, and moves his hand from the back of my head to my lower back. He pulls me closer to himself, pressing my body into his. I run my hand over his arm, and then up his abdomen and chest until I get to his neck. I keep my hand there, moving my thumb across his jawbone and stare at him for a moment. As we lie there quietly staring at each other I nod softly. He lunges forward the few inches to my face and captures my lips, kissing me with more passion, more abandon than before. He runs his hand up my stomach under my shirt until he gets to my breast. He pulls the fabric of the cup down and rolls my nipple between his thumb and index finger. I moan his name against his lips and then pull away.  
“What’s wrong, V?”  
“Nothing. I just thought this might be easier without so many damn clothes.”

We both stand up, and he reaches for me again. He grabs the bottom of my shirt and pulls it over my head, throwing it on the floor. He undoes my bra and throws that over with my shirt. Once those are off, he leans in and kisses me again, running his hands over my body. I pull away and say:  
“So, just to confirm before we get too carried away…Just sex right?”  
“Yes, Veronica. Just sex. My job here is to deflower you. What you do after that is up to you.”  
“Deflower me? Really?”  
“Shut up.”

I laugh and lift his shirt over his head. I kiss him as I run my hands down his chest to his belt. I quickly undo it and then undo his pants. He steps out of them as they fall down his legs. He undoes my shorts and pushes them down my legs. I step out of them and run my fingers under the waistband of his boxers.  
“You have condoms right?”  
He laughs.  
“Yeah, V. I have condoms.”

**************************  
**************************

She was in Weevil’s house for hours. When she finally came out it was dark, but thanks to the porch light I could see the kiss they shared as she left.   
“Goddamn it.”

She gets in her car and starts to drive away. I follow her, as I need to talk to her. She ends up at the sheriff’s office and goes inside. (Well, at least I know she won’t be kissing Echolls.) Instead of following her in, I drive to her apartment and park in the corner of the lot. I go up to her apartment and sit against the door, talking to Backup when he starts barking.

I’m still sitting there, quietly talking to Backup when Veronica gets home a couple of hours later.  
“It’s late Don. Go home.”  
“No. I’m going to take Backup for a walk like I’ve been promising for the past hour, and then I’m going to make you dinner and we’re going to talk.”  
“I’m not in the mood for this. Please go.”

She steps over me to unlock the door. Her thigh is next to my face, and I can’t help but to smell her skin.  
“You smell like him.”  
“Like who?”  
“Navarro. His scent is all over you…You had sex with him, didn’t you?”  
“Stop smelling me. It’s weird and creepy.”

She finishes opening the door and walks inside.  
“Hey, Backup…I’ll take you out in a few minutes, okay buddy?”  
“I’ll take him now Ronnie.”  
“I don’t want you here. Please, just go.”  
“I will take Backup out and then I will leave if that’s what you really want.”  
“Fine.”

She hands me her keys and Backup’s leash and closes the door behind us.

When we get back from Backup’s walk, I take off his leash and hang it up where it belongs. Veronica’s bedroom door is slightly ajar and I can hear her crying. I walk down the hall and push open her door. She’s wearing different clothes and her hair is wet, so I assume she’s taken a shower. She’s lying on her bed, against the wall, curled around a teddy bear, crying.  
“Ronnie? Sweetheart. Talk to me.”  
“It’s not something I want to talk to you about.”  
“Do you want me to stay with you? I’ll shut up. I’ll just hold you.”

She starts crying harder at that, gripping the teddy bear tighter.  
“Is that the bear I won you on your 15th birthday?”  
“Yeah.”  
(We had gone to a fair that day. Veronica, Keith, Lianne, and I. Veronica saw this stupid giant teddy bear in one of the stalls. It’s holding a heart that says ‘I love you beary much’. It’s ridiculous, but she decided she had to have it. It was a ring tossing booth, and she couldn’t win it on her own, so after watching her fail a bunch of times, I took over. I won the bear in three attempts and she kissed me on the cheek when I handed it to her.)

“What’s wrong Veronica?”  
“I had sex with Eli.”  
“I figured. But why are you crying baby?”  
“Because I felt so awful about it afterwards. Like I used him. Like I’m a whore. Like everything everyone has been saying about me for the past year and a half is true.”  
“Oh, sweetheart.”

I walk over to the bed and lay down next to her. I push her hair back from her face and stroke the side of her head.  
“You are not a whore. Why would you think that?”  
“Because last night…this morning…whenever…I was with you. I wanted you. You had your hands on me, I had my hands on you…and then this evening I had sex with him.”  
“Well, why did you have sex with him?”  
“Because I wanted to not be a virgin anymore. I wanted my first time to be with someone who loves me. Who I trust and feel safe with.”  
“And Eli loves you?”  
“Yes. And I trust him and feel safe with him.”  
“Then what’s the issue darling?”  
“The issue is that while I trust him and feel safe with him, and love him…I don’t love him the same as he loves me.”  
“But he knows that. It’s not like you led him on.”  
“The other issue is that part of the reason I chose him is because I was mad at you and I knew that me being with him would piss you off. When his hands were on my body, all I could think of was you. It made me feel sick to my stomach.”

I wrap my arms around her and pull her close to me.   
“Veronica…It’s okay.”  
“It’s not. I used him, and I regretted it as I was doing it.”  
“Did you tell him that?”  
“I told him I was sorry I used him. I love him, but not the way he loves me.”  
“And what did he say?”  
“That he knew that I didn’t love him the same way, and he volunteered anyways. He doesn’t expect anything but friendship from me, but he was hurt. I could see it in his eyes.”  
“If Navarro says it’s okay, it’s okay baby. He’s not going to lie to you to make you feel better.”  
“Can you go, please? I just want to be alone.”  
“If that’s what you really want.”  
“It is.”  
“Okay, Veronica.”

I lean forward and kiss her gently.  
“I don’t regret last night. Just so you know. The only thing I regret is leaving you.”

I get up out of her bed and leave the apartment, locking the door behind me. I head to the station to do some paperwork since sleep will not be a thing that happens tonight.

When I get to the station I’m walking into the bullpen when I hear Eli say my name behind me. I turn around to look at him and he punches me. I let it happen, I understand where he’s coming from. He punches me twice more before I shove him into the desk behind him and turn him around, saying:   
“Eli Navarro, you’re under arrest for assaulting a police officer.”  
“Yeah, sure. Arrest me when you know I have damn good reasons for hitting you.”  
“Navarro…shut up.”  
“No. I won’t shut up. You know she’s been in love with you since she was 14. She’s only 17! You had no right to touch her and then just leave her!”  
“Eli. Do you think she would want everyone in this station knowing her business?”  
“I don’t really care what she wants right now. You fucking broke her man. She was crying! She is a goddamn badass who hasn’t cried in front of people since Lilly died. She was broken. You left her. Let me repeat. You left her. Aaron Echolls tried to kill her, she was vulnerable, and you sexually touched her and then LEFT HER!”

He bellows the last part. I notice as he’s speaking that Leo and Sacks both got closer to us. I’m not sure if Leo is getting closer to us to help me with Navarro or if he’s coming to help Navarro kick my ass. I say:  
“Why are you so pissed off? Aren’t you the one who took her virginity earlier today?”  
“You know damn well why I did that. I saw your car outside my house when she left. I know you followed her home. You smell like her shampoo.”  
“I’m sorry she doesn’t love you the way you love her, Eli. I know it hurts. But this? This is not the way to handle it.”

I walk him to the cells and I put him in next to Echolls. Echolls looks at Navarro and says:  
“You had sex with Veronica? Wasn’t fucking one of my girlfriends enough?”

Eli and I both answer at the same time:  
“Veronica is not your girlfriend.”

Echolls looks at me and says:  
“Isn’t you touching a 17-year-old in a sexual manner…illegal?”

Leo walks in the room behind us and says:  
“Yeah. It is. I called Veronica. She’s on her way here. If she chooses to press charges you’re going in a cell, Sheriff.”  
“Okay. Until then I’ll be in my office.”

**************************  
**************************

I get to the station and Leo meets me at the desk.  
“What is so important and urgent Leo?”  
“We need to talk about you pressing charges against the sheriff.”  
“For what? Why would I press charges against Don?”  
“Sexual interference.”  
“Oh my god. Are you fucking kidding me? I begged him to touch me. He didn’t do anything wrong.”  
“Veronica. Him touching you is wrong.”  
“I don’t care. This doesn’t affect anyone else and I’m almost 18. Why did this come up anyway?”  
“Eli came in yelling at him.”  
“Where is Eli now?”  
“In a cell. He punched the sheriff.”  
“Where is Don?”  
“In his office.”

I walk away from Leo and walk into Don’s office, closing the door behind me.   
“You let him hit you.”  
“He needed it.”  
“Don…”  
“It’s okay, Ronnie. I’ll let him out in a bit when he calms down. He needed the outlet.”  
“He could have punched a wall.”  
“He could have, but he loves you, and you love me.”  
“I do, do I?”  
“Yeah, baby. You do.”

I walk over to where he’s sitting at his desk, and sit in his lap.  
“Do you love me?”  
“Beary much.”  
“You’re an idiot.”  
“Come home with me.”  
“You should come home with me. I’m the one with the dog that needs to be walked.”  
“Bring Backup with you. Come stay with me until Keith is out of the hospital.”  
“You do have a bigger bed...”

I lean forward to kiss him and say:   
“Are you going to break my heart?”  
“Not intentionally.”  
“I’ll take that, I guess. It’s late and I’m tired. I’m going to go home, pack some clothes, and get Backup. Meet me at your house?”

He opens his desk drawer, takes a key out, and hands it to me saying:  
“Take this. I’ll meet you there as soon as I can.”  
“I’m getting a key to your apartment?”  
“How else are you supposed to let yourself in?”

I leave the station and head home. I’m in my bedroom packing a bag when I hear the front door open and close. Backup doesn’t respond, so I know it’s someone he knows. I assume it’s Don, so don’t even turn around or stop what I’m doing when the person enters my room. When he shoves me into my closet door I know who it is.  
“Leo? What are you doing?”  
“Well, you fucked Eli, and you let fucking Don Lamb touch you, so I figured if you were giving it away I should come to get mine before you become too much of a whore.”

He pulls me away from the closet door and shoves me across the room. I can’t catch my balance in time and smash my head on the edge of my bookcase. Everything goes black for a few minutes and when I wake up he’s pushing into me. I can feel myself tear. It hurts so much. I try to talk to him, to make him stop:  
“Leo, please, please, stop.”  
But he doesn’t respond. He just keeps pushing into me before punching me in the face. Everything goes black again. When I wake up he’s gone and I’m bleeding from my head, face, and genitals. I don’t think I can stand up, so I crawl over to my desk and call Don.  
“Veronica? Why are you still at home?”  
I can’t make words, so I just whimper.  
“Veronica? Honey? What happened? I’ll be right there.”

He hangs up the phone but I can’t get mine hung up. It seems like hours between him hanging up and him walking in the bedroom, but it’s probably only a few minutes. He sees me lying broken and bleeding on the floor and runs over to me.  
“Sweetheart. Oh my god. What happened?”  
I gasp and swallow…trying to speak. I end up whispering:  
“Leo…Leo raped me.”  
“Were you awake?”  
“No. I blacked out. When I woke up, he punched me and I blacked out again.”  
“I’m taking you to the hospital.”  
“No.”  
“Yes. Not up for debate. Will you let me carry you, or do I need to call an ambulance?”  
“Carry me.”

**************************  
**************************

I put her housecoat on her and carefully pick her up, apologizing for hurting her the whole time. I put her down outside the door long enough to lock the door behind me, then pick her up again. I carry her to the car and buckle her in.

By the time we get to the hospital, she’s unconscious again, so I explain to the nurses what happened to the best of my ability. Once she’s admitted I call Sacks.  
“Have you seen Leo?”  
“Yeah…He’s here.”  
“Cuff him and lock him up. Put Echolls and Navarro in a cage together, put him in the other one.”  
“What did he do?”  
“He raped Veronica. She’s in the hospital with pretty severe trauma.”  
“I’ll get him right now. You coming in?”  
“Yeah, I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

Once I hang up with Sacks, I walk over to the nurse's station and give them my number to call for updates and let them know that Veronica’s dad is in ICU upstairs. Then I head upstairs to talk to Keith. When I enter his room he’s asleep, and I feel bad about waking him up, but I know I have to.  
“Keith?”  
“Don? What’s wrong? Where’s Veronica?”  
“Downstairs in the ER. There was an incident tonight.”  
“What kind of incident, Don?”  
“She was assaulted and raped Keith.”  
“By who? Where?”  
“By Leo…in her bedroom. From what she managed to tell me, he followed her home and came in when she was busy with something. He threw her across the room and she hit her head. While she was blacked out he began raping her. When she woke up, he punched her in the face until she blacked out again. She’s in pretty rough shape, but they know that she’s your daughter, so updates on her condition will come to both of us.”  
“Did you get him?”  
“Idiot went back to the station afterwards. Sacks threw him in a cell. I’m waiting for the rape kit to be done so I can fully nail him to the wall.”  
“Did she call you or 911?”  
“Me.”  
“Good. Don?”  
“Yeah, Keith?”  
“Thank you for loving my daughter.”  
“How did you…?”  
“I’m not stupid Don. The two of you have loved each other since she was 14.”  
“She’s not 18 yet, we can’t actually be together.”  
“As long as it’s what Veronica wants I’m fine with it. With some ground rules of course.”  
“Of course.”  
“Beat the shit out of Leo for me.”  
“I’ll arrange that Sir.”

I leave Keith’s room and head back downstairs. The nurse beckons me over and hands me the rape kit as she says:  
“She’s asking for you.”

I go into the room where Veronica is and say:  
“Hi, baby.”  
“Don…”  
She starts to cry.  
“It’s okay baby. Everything will be okay.”  
“Stay with me?”  
“I can’t right now sweetheart. I have to go deal with Leo.”  
“I don’t want to be alone.”  
“Do you want me to call Wallace for you?”  
“Yeah. Warn him about the state of me before he gets here.”  
“Of course.”

I lean over her and kiss her.  
“I love you.”  
“Still? Even though he…”  
“What he did has no effect on who you are. It doesn’t change you or how I feel about you. I love you.”  
“I love you too.”

I kiss her again and then leave the room.

Once I’m outside, I call Wallace.  
“Sheriff?”  
“Sorry, Wallace. I know it’s late.”  
“What’s wrong? Is it Veronica?”  
“Yeah. She’s in the hospital and doesn’t want to be alone, but I have to go deal with the piece of shit that put her here. Can you come to stay with her?”  
“Of course. Where in the hospital is she?”  
“The ER. Warning, she’s pretty banged up.”  
“Noted. I’ll be right there. Thanks, Sheriff.”

I let the nurses know that Wallace will be coming to see Veronica and then I leave the hospital. By the time I get to the station, I have a plan. When I walk in I hand the rape kit to Sacks and tell him to get it to the lab right away. Then I go back to the cells. I stand outside Leo’s cell and say:  
“So, what? You couldn’t handle the fact that she dated you for months and didn’t want to fuck you?”  
“Nope. Just figured if she was giving it out like a cheap whore I should get some early in the process.”  
“Cheap whore? How exactly was she acting like a cheap whore, Leo?”  
“She fucked that criminal over there. She begged you to touch her. Clearly her standards have lowered.”

Echolls and Navarro both stand up and say:  
“What did he do to Veronica?”  
“He raped her. She’s in the hospital with brain trauma and severe tearing.”

Echolls and Navarro both start yelling. I look at them and shake my head slightly. They stop. I look at Leo and say:  
“Why not just find a girl who wanted to have sex with you?”  
“I wanted Veronica. I don’t know why though. She’s kind of shit.”  
“Amazing how poorly someone reacts to being knocked unconscious and raped. Because trust me, Leo…when she wants it? She’s spectacular.”

Eli looks over and says:  
“Yup. I agree.”

I walk out of the cell area and go to my office. I turn off the cameras in the cell area and go back in. I stand in front of Logan and Eli and say:  
“You’ll stop before you kill him, right?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Good.”  
I open their cell and walk them over to Leo’s. He’s still cuffed because Sacks decided he didn’t need his hands. I open the cell door and let Logan and Eli in before closing the door and walking away. Out in the bullpen, I say to Sacks:  
“In 30 minutes, move Echolls back to his cell and let Navarro go. Don’t call an ambulance for Leo unless it’s severe.”

**************************  
**************************

I doze off briefly, and when I wake up, Wallace is sitting next to my bed.  
“Hi.”  
“Hey, Veronica.”  
Then I hear Alicia’s voice from the other side of my bed:  
“Hi, Sweetie. How are you feeling?”  
“Like every part of me is on fire. I want to get up and walk around.”  
“You can’t yet. You’ve been sedated to help your head heal.”  
“When can I go home?”  
“They say tomorrow unless something changes for the worse.”  
“How is Dad?”  
“Worried about you. He sent me down here to watch you until you woke up. I’ll go report back now.”  
“Thank you.”  
“Of course sweetheart. Get some rest okay?”  
“Okay.”

Alicia leaves the room and Wallace says:

“SupaFly…how are you really?”  
“Awful. It was Leo. I trusted Leo.”  
“I know.”  
“It happened in my bedroom, Wallace. How can I ever feel safe there again?”  
“I don’t know baby.”  
I start to cry and Wallace stands up and says:  
“Move over Veronica.”

I roll onto my side and move over to the very edge of the bed. Wallace lays down next to me and gently plays with the bottom of my hair.  
“I’d hug you, but I don’t want to hurt you.”  
“Don’t worry about hurting me. Breathing hurts right now. I could really use a hug.”

He wraps his arms around me and I cry into his chest. We stay like that for a long time, until Don walks in.  
“Hey, Sheriff. Veronica needed a hug.”  
“Understandable.”

I look at Don and see something…dark, in his face.  
“What happened at the station, Don?”  
“I put Echolls and Navarro in the cell with Leo and walked away.”  
“Did they promise to stop before they killed him?”  
“Yes.”  
“Then…good.”  
“You’re okay with that, baby?”  
“Look at what he did to me. Yes. I’m okay with it.”

A voice from the doorway says:  
“Good. Because we beat the shit out of him.”  
“Eli…”  
He walks towards the bed and kisses me gently on the cheek.  
“Hi, sweetheart. When do you get to go home?”  
“Tomorrow…but I’m not going back to my apartment. How can I?”

Wallace says:  
“You can stay with us SupaFly.”  
“Thanks, Papa Bear, but I think I’m going to stay at Don’s…if he’s still okay with it, of course.”

Don walks over from the door and sits in the chair Wallace recently moved out of.  
“Of course I am baby. Why wouldn’t I be?”

I gesture at myself.  
“I’m kind of a broken mess at the moment.”  
“Once again, what he did to you has no effect on who you are or how I feel about you. I love you.”

Wallace looks at Eli, Don, and I and says:  
“You three are a matching set. What the hell happened to you two idiots?”  
Eli says:  
“Logan kicked me in the face.”  
Don says:  
“Eli punched me in the face.”

Wallace says:  
“Why?”  
Eli says:  
“We jumped Logan on the bridge. He landed a good kick. By the way sheriff, I don’t think he killed Felix.”  
Don says:  
“Eli slept with Veronica and then got pissed at me that she doesn’t love him like she loves me. And I didn’t think he killed Felix.”

Eli says:  
“That’s not exactly why I hit you, sheriff. I hit you because you made V cry.”

I look at Eli and say:  
“My hero. Did you ever think that if I wanted him punched I’d do it myself?”  
“No…I didn’t. Sorry, V.”

Wallace stares at me and says:  
“Wait…what? You had sex with Weevil?”  
“Yes. It’s not a big deal Wallace.”  
“Okay…I need to go home before I get sucked into this soap opera. I feel like I’m living on Young and the Restless or some shit like that.”  
“Thank you for staying with me Wallace.”  
“Always, Veronica.”  
He kisses my cheek and gets off the bed before walking out of the room. 

I look at Don and say:  
“Do you think you could go by my apartment and pick up my stuff and Backup?”  
“Of course. Are you packed?”  
“No…That’s what I was doing when he walked in.”  
“Okay. Want me to bring all your clothes then?”  
“A selection? You know what I wear. Don’t forget pyjamas. And the toiletries out of the bathroom. And my laptop…and Backup’s leash and food.”  
“I do know how to pack, love.”  
“Do you have my keys still?”  
“Yeah. I’ll go get your stuff and take it to my place and then come back okay?”  
“Okay.”

Don looks at Eli and says:  
“Will you stay with her until I’m back?”  
“Of course.”

Don leaves and I look at Eli and say:  
“Do you mind if I go to sleep? I’m so tired.”  
“No, of course, I don’t mind.”

He sits down in the chair and promptly yawns.  
“Eli, come lay down with me. You may as well sleep too.”  
“Are you sure, V?”  
“Well, I’m not asking you to fuck me again, just lie down and sleep, so…yes?”

He laughs at me and takes off his jacket and shoes before laying down on the bed.

**************************  
**************************

When I get back to the hospital, I go upstairs to let Keith know that when Veronica is released she’s coming to my apartment.   
“Hey, Don.”  
“Hey, Keith. She’s being released in the morning.”  
“I heard. I also heard that she’s going to your house.”  
“Yeah, she doesn’t want to be home. She doesn’t feel safe.”  
“That makes sense. Protect my little girl, Don.”  
“I will…Keith?”  
“Yeah?”  
“I was thinking, the next election is in the fall.”  
“Yeah?”  
“I was thinking you should run. I’ll support you.”  
“You don’t want to be sheriff anymore?”  
“I don’t think I ever should have been sheriff. I’ve never been good at it, and I didn’t notice that one of my deputies was a fucking sociopath.”  
“He dated Veronica for months. I didn’t notice he was a sociopath either.”  
“It’s not the same, Keith. I hired him. I stood by and let her date him even though I had a bad feeling about it. I put her in a situation where she trusted someone she shouldn’t have. And if she wasn’t with me, he wouldn’t have…”  
“You cannot blame yourself.”  
“He said that he did it because she let me touch her. That if she was going to act like a cheap whore that he was going to get his share early.”  
“Don. What he did was not your fault. Veronica loves you. You love Veronica. She let you touch her because she trusts you and loves you.”  
“I still think you should run for Sheriff. I’ll help Veronica at Mars Investigations. We both know I’m better at operating outside the strict rules of the law.”  
“Well, that’s true. I’ll think about it, okay?”  
“Okay. I’d better get back to her.”

I leave Keith’s room and head downstairs. I walk into Veronica’s room and she and Eli are both in the bed. Veronica is awake and is gently running her fingers along the side of Eli’s face. I sit down in the chair and whisper:  
“Hey, sweetheart. How come every time I come in this room a different boy is in your bed?”  
“Eli needed sleep.”  
“I know. It’s okay. I talked to the nurses and you get to go home in a couple of hours.”  
“I’m going to let Eli keep sleeping if that’s okay.”  
“Of course it’s okay. You should get some sleep too though baby.”  
“I can’t. I don’t like it here.”

I stand up and pick up the chair I was sitting in. I move it to the other side of the bed so I can touch Veronica. I sit back down and put my hand on her hip, drawing soft circles with my thumb.  
“Go to sleep Ronnie. I’m right here. Eli’s here. You’re safe.”

A couple of hours later the doctor comes in while Veronica and Eli are both sleeping.   
“Everything looks good. She can go home. She just shouldn’t be left alone for the first three days, later this evening she needs to take a second dose of the morning-after pill, and in three months she needs to have another HIV test.”  
“He didn’t?”  
“Use protection? No. But she’s tested negative for everything so far.”  
“What can she take for pain?”  
“Extra strength Tylenol. I don’t want to give her anything stronger considering her age and size.”  
“Will she experience much pain?”  
“Yes. Her head will most likely hurt for a few days, and her vaginal stitches could be painful or itchy until they dissolve in about 2 weeks.”  
“How many stitches did she end up with?”  
“Ten in her scalp and twenty vaginal.”  
“Jesus Christ.”  
“The nurse will be by in a bit to discharge her.”  
“Thank you.”

I sit back down in the chair, completely at a loss. (How do I help her through this? It’s so much worse than I thought.)

“Sheriff? What’s wrong man?”  
“Nothing. She’s getting discharged as soon as the nurse gets here.”  
“Something is wrong. Tell me.”  
“Just…her injuries are worse than I thought.”  
Veronica opens her eyes and says:  
“So the doctor told you.”  
“They’re just stitches baby.”  
“I’m going to have scar tissue. Did he tell you that? It will change the feeling of…everything.”  
“It’s okay sweetheart.”  
“NO, IT’S NOT!”  
“Hey, Eli, can I trade spots with you?”  
“Yup.”

Eli gets up out of the bed and I lay down. I put my hands on Veronica’s face and say:  
“Veronica. Look at me.”  
She lifts her eyes to mine.  
“I know it doesn’t feel like everything is going to be okay right now, but I promise it will be.”  
“You don’t know that.”  
“What do you think is going to happen, baby?”  
“I think you’re never going to look at me the same way. That you’ll feel the scar tissue and think about Leo and what he did to me. That I’ll never feel normal. That I won’t want you the same way I did before this.”  
“Oh, honey. You don’t need to worry about any of that. We love each other. We can make it through this. I promise.”  
“If you say so.”  
“Oh, baby…I’m so sorry this happened to you. But I promise that we will be okay.”

I lean forward and gently kiss her.  
“If you’re so insistent on things being okay, stop treating me like I’m about to break. Kiss me properly.”  
“Gladly, bossy.”

I kiss her properly, putting all my love and desire for her into it. We separate when the nurse comes in and clears her throat.  
“I feel like I need to emphasize that Veronica will not feel up to any vaginal sexual activity until her stitches are gone. About 2 weeks. And I should say that even if she feels up to it prior to that, she shouldn’t partake.”

Veronica laughs and says:  
“Yes ma’am.”

The nurse says:  
“Okay, let’s get you out of that bed and dressed. Guys, can you wait outside please?”

**************************  
**************************

When I get out to the hallway, Don is waiting for me, but Eli is gone.  
“Eli said to give you a kiss, and he’ll come over later to see you.”  
“Okay…Can we go home?”  
“Of course sweetheart.”

When we get to Don’s apartment he says:  
“I need to take Backup out. Will you be okay for a few minutes?”  
“Yeah. I’m just going to sit on the couch. I do need to shower and wash my hair, but I can’t lift my arms enough, so I’m going to need your help.”  
“Of course. I’ll be right back.”

When he and Backup get back I’m drinking a glass of juice.  
“Sorry. I rummaged a bit to find a glass.”  
“Honey, why are you apologizing for that?”  
“Because it’s your house and…”

He cut me off, saying:  
“Until you feel safe going home, this is your house too. Open every cupboard and drawer. There are some boxes in the guest room, go through those too. There’s nothing in this apartment that I want to hide from you.”  
“You realize what you’re saying, right?”  
“Yes. I’m telling the perpetually curious one to satisfy her curiosity.”  
“Thank you.”  
“You said you wanted to take a shower. Do you want to do that now?”  
“Yes, but…”  
“But what, sweetheart?”  
“You didn’t see all of my injuries. I’m worried about you seeing me.”

He walks over to the couch, takes the glass out of my hand, puts it down on the table and then takes my hands and pulls me up. He says:  
“I love you.”  
He grabs the bottom of my t-shirt and pulls it over my head, throwing it to the floor behind him. He gently runs his hands over my upper body, down towards the tie of my sweatpants. He unties them and gently pushes them down over my hips. I step out of them as they pool around my ankles and Don gasps.  
“See? It’s bad. I told you.”

I try to cover my body back up, to leave. But he wraps his arms around my waist and holds me in place.  
“Veronica. They are just bruises. I’ve seen you with bruises before. And some of these are from Aaron still.”  
“I feel like I’m broken, Don. You deserve a girlfriend who isn’t like this.”  
“Who isn’t beautiful, intelligent, and sassy? Hell no.”  
“Who isn’t damaged goods!”  
“You are not damaged goods, you lunatic. Something happened to you. That doesn’t change who you are.”  
“Did you just call me a lunatic?”  
“Yes. Now, let’s go have that shower.”

He steps back from me and peels off his t-shirt and jeans.  
“I just need help with my hair, you don’t have to come in.”  
“Uh-huh. I know I don’t have to, but I am.”

He holds his hand out to me and I take it before he leads me down the hall to the master bathroom. Once we get in the bathroom he turns on the water for the shower.  
“Really hot, please.”  
“It is.”

We strip off our underwear and step into the shower. Once we’re in the shower, I turn around and face him.  
“Show me how much you love me. Show me you still want me.”  
“Sweetheart, the nurse said…”  
“I’m not asking you to fuck me, Don. I hurt too much for that, just show me that I can still turn you on, that you still want me. Even after…”  
“Oh baby, of course, I still want you.”

He grabs the back of my neck and pulls me towards him, kissing me as his other arm wraps around my lower back, pinning me against his body. As the kiss deepens, I can feel him grow harder against my stomach. (Even as he’s getting turned on he’s still trying to be gentle with me, which I hate because it makes me feel like he thinks I’m breakable.) I run my fingernails down his back and he walks me backwards into the wall, pinning me between his body and the wall. This frees his hands to roam my body. He cups my breast and rolls the nipple between his fingers. I moan against his mouth, and I can feel him smirk. He moves his mouth off of mine and starts trailing kisses along my jaw and down my neck.   
“Um…as much as I enjoy this, the point of this little exercise was to get you turned on, because that we can do something about. Turning me on is just cruel at this point.”

He lifts his head from my neck and looks at me before grabbing one of my hands and putting it on his cock.   
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed baby, but I’m definitely turned on. Also, the nurse said no vaginal sexual activity. That doesn’t mean I can’t give you an orgasm.”  
“Um…”  
“Trust me, baby girl.”

He kisses me and then trails his mouth down my neck, kissing and biting his way to my breasts. He puts his mouth over one of my nipples, sucking and biting, and pinches my other nipple between his fingers. I gasp and tangle my fingers in his hair, raking my nails along his scalp.  
“Don…”

He lifts his head and smirks at me before saying:  
“You like that Ronnie?”  
“Yeah…”  
“Do you trust me?”   
“Yes.”  
“Good.”

He kneels down in front of me and lifts one of my legs over his shoulder. He puts his arm across my stomach to hold me in place and lifts my other leg over his other shoulder. He blows on my clit before lightly sucking on it. He alternates between drawing shapes on my clit with his tongue and sucking on it. My leg muscles start shaking and I can feel my orgasm building.  
“Don, I need more.”  
He starts to suck harder and starts scraping his teeth over my clit. He keeps going until I come apart screaming. He moves his head back and looks up at me.  
“You good baby?”  
“Yes…very much.”  
“If I put you down do you think you can stand up?”  
“Yes…I think I can manage.”

**************************  
**************************

I put her down on her feet and stand back up. I lean into her and kiss her. She reaches down and runs her fingers along my cock.  
“Your turn now. Will you jerk off for me again? Show me what you like?”  
“What I like is you, but yeah, if that’s what you want.”  
“I liked watching you jerk off last time. How can I help?”  
“Just kiss me, baby.”

She leans into me and kisses me, leaving her fingers resting on my cock, so I wrap my hand around hers, slightly intertwining our fingers and then wrap our hands around my cock.   
“What are you doing?”  
“You’re going to help me.”  
I begin to jerk myself off with her hand, showing her exactly what I like.  
“What do you normally think about when you do this?”  
“You.”  
“Liar.”  
“No way baby, not lying at all. Since I met you, you are all I’ve thought of while doing this.”  
“You met me when I was 14.”  
“I didn’t say I was proud of it. In my defence, you were always a consenting adult in my fantasies.”  
“You’ve dated people since you met me.”  
“I’ve fucked people since I met you, I’ve never dated anyone.”  
“And the distinction is?”  
“They didn’t matter to me. You do. You always have.”  
“What are you thinking about right now?”  
“The way your pussy tastes, how good your hand feels on my cock, how I can’t wait to climb into bed with you later.”  
“That’s part of what you think about to get you off? Sleeping in the same bed as me?”  
“It’s a full-service fantasy baby.”

I lean in and kiss her, biting her bottom lip to get her to open up to me. I kiss her deeply, massaging her tongue with mine as I orgasm. As we pull apart she says:  
“I love you. But you know your fantasies were wrong.”  
“How?”  
She leans in and whispers:  
“I’m not an adult.”  
I wink at her and say:  
“That’s okay. I got your dad’s permission.”  
“I hope you at least gave him a goat in exchange for me.”  
“Three goats! Don’t underestimate your worth baby.”  
She rolls her eyes and says:  
“You’re an idiot.”  
“Yeah, but I’m your idiot.”  
“Yeah, I guess you are.”

As we wash off and I wash her hair, I say:  
“I told your dad he should run for sheriff in the next election. I told him that I would support him.”  
“Why?”  
“Because I never should have been sheriff. I wasn’t even a good deputy. I missed things I should have seen…you got hurt because of it.”

She’s quiet as we finish our shower and dry off. We get dressed and walk out to the living room in silence. I sit on the couch, fully prepared for her to say:  
“You’re right. It’s all your fault. I’m going to go stay with Wallace and Alicia.”

But that’s not what happens. She walks over to me and straddles my lap. She kisses me and then rests her forehead on my neck.  
“None of this is your fault, Don. You didn’t miss anything that led to this. No-one who had met Leo would suspect that he would be capable of this.”  
“I should have realized he was a sociopath.”  
“There’s literally no way you could have. Because he’s not. He’s just one of those quote-unquote nice guys who is really a misogynistic asshole.”

She looks at me and puts her hands on my face before saying:  
“I’m not going to argue with you not being the sheriff anymore, I love you, but you kind of suck at your job. You were a good deputy though. Don’t discount your entire career. What will you do if you aren’t sheriff anymore? Go back to being a deputy?”  
“No…I suggested to Keith that I help you run Mars Investigations since I’ve always been better at operating slightly outside the law.”  
“Hmmm…I’m not opposed to working together.”  
“Such a ringing endorsement babe.”

**************************  
**************************

A week later Dad was back home but I didn’t feel safe being there yet. Dad agreed to let me stay with Don until school started again. Tensions in town exploded over the summer after the murder charges were dropped against Logan. Dad and Don didn’t want me working at the office with things being as crazy as they were, so I got a job at a coffee shop. Whenever Don was working and I wasn’t, I was spending time with Wallace, Eli, or Meg. Once Meg and Duncan broke up, I spent a lot of time with her. Two days before school started I moved back in with Dad. The first couple of nights were rough. I thought I was prepared, but I couldn’t even be in my bedroom. I ended up sleeping on the couch. 

A couple of weeks after school started we had a field trip. After the ride there on a stinky, un-air-conditioned bus, the 09ers decided to take a limo home. Meg stayed on the bus with me because she and Duncan had broken up at the beginning of summer and she didn’t want to be near him. When the bus stopped at a gas station, I ran into Eli, while we were talking the bus pulled away (the only reason I can think of for why Meg would let the bus leave without me is that she had spent all summer using all of her pent-up relationship skills to try to convince me to leave Don and date Eli, so I’m thinking she thought a ride on his bike couldn’t hurt). Eli offered me a ride and we followed the bus. We got there right after it went over a cliff. 

When the deputies got there, Sacks interviewed Eli and I. Once he realized we were too far back to have seen anything, he sent us home. 

Don was so busy with the investigation that I didn’t actually see him until days later when I was at the bus driver’s house talking to his daughter Jessie. When Don walked in and saw me, he said:  
“What are you doing here Veronica?”  
“Jessie’s a friend.”  
“I know all your friends Mars, she’s not one of them. No investigating.”  
“Aw. But someone has to.”

His eye starts doing that delightful twitch it does when he’s annoyed at me and Jessie looks between us and says:  
“How does he know all your friends? Are all of them criminals?”

Don laughs and says:  
“A fair number of them are.”

I shake my head and look at Jessie.  
“The illustrious sheriff here is my boyfriend.”  
“Well, your boyfriend is trying to pin the crash on my dad.”  
“I know, Jessie. I’m on your side here. I don’t think he did it.”

Don growls quietly and says:  
“Stay out of the investigation Veronica. I will put you in a cell if you don’t.”  
“If you put me in a cell, Sacks will let me out. Won’t you Sacks?”

Behind Don, Sacks nods. Don shakes his head and says:  
“It’s a mutiny.”  
Then louder he says:  
“You guys want to execute this search warrant or just stand around and watch this tiny blonde pain in my ass snipe at me?”

The deputies quickly spread out to search the apartment. I look at Jessie and I say:  
“I’ll see you tomorrow at school. We’ll figure this out. I promise.”

I walk out of her apartment, knowing Don will follow me, which he does. He grabs my arm and turns me around to face him while backing me into a wall. He kisses me (he must really be angry at me though because it’s rough and full of teeth) and then says:  
“I love you, but you have to stop undermining me in front of my deputies and the public.”  
“Don, he didn’t kill himself. Something else happened on that bus. If you won’t figure it out, I will.”  
“I don’t want you obsessing over this. You’re barely sleeping as it is and you were supposed to be on that bus. If it hadn’t been for the combination of Eli and Meg I would have lost you.”  
“Honey, I’m me. I’m going to be obsessing about this until it’s solved, so if you don’t want to lose me down the investigative spiral, help me. Ed didn’t do this. Investigate other options!”

I push him back away from me and then walk away. The next day he shows up, puts cuffs on me, and takes me to the station. When we get there he walks me into the interrogation room and uncuffs me. He starts asking me questions about Curly Moran. (I’ve seen this dude once. I don’t know why he’s got my name on his hand.) When he’s done asking his questions I say:  
“You could have asked me these questions at home, or on the phone. You didn’t have to cuff me and bring me here.”  
“Cuffing you is one of my joys in life. Don’t take away my joy.”  
“Babe, that’s seriously twisted.”  
“Will I see you this weekend?”  
“Probably not? I’m helping Cassidy with something.”  
“What are you investigating for him?”  
“He wants proof Kendall is cheating on Big Dick. Follow her around, take some pictures, get the money shot, get paid, move on. It’ll be easy.”  
“Uh-huh…And when exactly do I get to be alone with my girlfriend without arresting her?”  
“Dad and Alicia are going away next weekend. You could come spend the weekend with me. Help me purge the evil spirits from my bedroom.”  
“So sex?”  
“Lots of it…please.”  
“Be honest, you’re just interested in me for my body, aren’t you?”  
“Yes. You caught me.”

**************************  
**************************  
I didn’t end up closing the bus crash investigation after finding Ed’s suicide note. Not because I thought Veronica was right, but because something wasn’t adding up. I asked Keith for his help, and we decided to raise the bus to investigate further. Before we could though, he went away for the weekend with Alicia.

I took the weekend off and decided to wait for Veronica at her door after school. When she walked up and saw me she laughed before saying:  
“Well, someone’s eager to get the weekend started.”

I grabbed her waist and pulled her towards me.  
“I missed you. I’m excited to spend the whole weekend alone with you. So sue me.”  
“You’re such a marshmallow.”  
“Only with you, baby, only with you.”  
I kissed her, and then let her go so she could unlock the door. Backup came bounding out, so I say:  
“You want me to take him for his walk?”  
“Let’s both go.”

She drops her bag inside and grabs Backup’s leash, handing it to me so I could connect it while she re-locks the door. I hold Backup’s leash and wrap my arm around Veronica’s shoulders. She wraps her arm around my waist and snuggles into my side. We walk down to the beach like that, in silence, just enjoying being near each other.

When we get back to the apartment it’s dinner time, and I know my girl, so I ask:  
“What do you want to do for dinner?”  
From her bedroom I hear her say:  
“I’m not hungry yet.”  
I walk back there saying:  
“Baby, you’re always hungry."

When I walk into her bedroom I stop (honestly, it’s like my brain short-circuited), she’s standing there wearing this amazing black lace bodysuit.  
“Jesus, Veronica.”  
“You like it?”  
“Of course I like it, but you know this isn’t necessary right? I literally want to fuck you all the time.”  
“Prove it.”

I walk across the room and pick her up, wrapping her legs around my waist. She gasps and says:  
“You’re already hard.”  
“I told you, Veronica, I always want to fuck you.”  
As I carry her to the bed I kiss her neck.  
“Make me forget.”  
“I’ll do my best baby.”

I lay her down on the bed and kiss and suck on her neck and collarbone as I undo the fasteners on the bodysuit. I move my mouth down her body, kissing and biting all the exposed skin. She gasps and moans my name. (That might be the best sound in the world.) Once I get all the fasteners undone I pull the straps off her shoulders and pull the bodysuit down her body. Once the bodysuit is off I run my hands over her body while kissing her.  
“Don, please…”  
“It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you.”

I reached down to stroke her clit.  
“God, baby. You’re so wet already.”  
“Please…Don…Please. I need you inside me.”

I stand up, take my clothes off, and put a condom on while Veronica watches, licking her lips. I lay down next to her and say:  
“You take the lead baby.”

**************************  
**************************

I get up and straddle him, kissing him as I do. I reach down and guide his cock into me, moaning as he enters. He groans and his fingers grip my hips, pulling me down towards him.  
“You said I should take the lead, Don.”  
His fingers relax and he starts gently stroking my sides.  
“Sorry sweetheart. You just feel so good.”

I lean forward and kiss him while moving in a slow rhythm. He runs his hands over my back and then tangles one of his hands in my hair before sitting up so I end up in his lap and he’s leaning against the wall. I keep moving at a slow, languid pace. Neither of us is in a hurry to reach orgasm. I nuzzle into his neck and say:  
“I love you.”  
“I love you, Veronica.”

Forty-five minutes later we’re in the shower and my stomach growls loudly. Don laughs and says:  
“Well, now you’re hungry.”  
“I want pasta…”  
“And by that, you mean you wish to eat your body weight in manicotti?”  
“You know me so well.”  
“Do you want to order in or do you want to go out to eat like a real couple that goes on dates?”  
“Order in. I want to wear pyjamas.”  
“Fair.”

That’s how our weekend goes. Long walks with Backup, take out food in our pyjamas, and lots of sex. Don was supposed to leave before Dad got home, but we overslept (I was late for school), so we were still in bed when Dad and Alicia walked in. I hear Dad yell from the living room:  
“Ground rules, Don. Ground rules!”

Don jumps up and pulls on his clothes.  
“Shit.”  
I laugh at him and say:  
“Daddy’s home.”  
I stand up and kiss him before getting dressed.   
“It’s been nice knowing you, honey.”

We walk out to the living room and Dad says:  
“Go to school Veronica.”  
“Fine, but please don’t kill him, Daddy, I love him.”  
“Oh shut up and go to school.”

I kiss Don on the cheek and walk out the door.

After school that day I went to the station to see him. I walk into his office and close the door behind me.  
“So you’re still alive, huh?”  
“He took pity on me.”

He holds out his hand to me and says:  
“Come here.”

I walk over to him and sit on his lap. He holds me close and says:  
“Won’t be able to do this much longer, this will be your dad’s desk again soon.”  
“Yeah, but then you’ll be at Mars Investigations with me.”  
“Oh, do I have fantasies about that place…”  
“You are a sick, sick old man.”  
“Yes, and you love me for it.”  
“I think you mean despite it.”  
“Marry me.”  
“I’m only in high school, Don.”  
“That’s not a no.”  
“You’re right, it’s not. But it’s also not a yes.”  
“Hmmm…I’ll take what I can get.”  
“Come to homecoming with me.”  
“You want me to come to a high school dance with you?”  
“Yes. It’s one of the side effects of dating someone in high school.”  
“When is it?”  
“A couple of weeks.”  
“Fine. Do I have to wear a suit?”  
“Yeah…I’d like to see you in a suit.”

**************************  
**************************

A week before the dance I get a phone call from Veronica.  
“I bought my dress. I thought I’d tell you that it’s dark purple.”  
“Come with me to pick out a suit.”  
“What part of I just bought a dress implies that I wish to do more shopping?”  
“You can have the final say in what I wear…”  
“Fine. Tomorrow afternoon?”  
“Good. I’ll pick you up from school.”  
“I do drive you know.”  
“Oh, I know. But I like claiming you as mine.”  
“Fine. I’ll meet you out front.”

The next day I’m waiting out front of the high school for Ronnie when Terrence Cook comes up to me.  
“Terrence.”  
“Sheriff. Do you have a minute?”  
“Sure. I’m just waiting for Veronica.”  
“Veronica Mars? Why?”  
“She’s my girlfriend. What can I help you with?”  
“One of your deputies tried to blackmail me.”  
“With what?”  
“Personal business.”  
“Well, if you won’t talk to me, I can’t really help. What I would recommend is that you talk to Keith Mars. He’ll be sheriff soon anyways.”  
“That’s a good plan. While I’m talking to Keith should I tell him that you’re dating his barely legal daughter?”  
“You think Keith doesn’t know? He gave me his permission before we started dating. I don’t have a death wish.”

Just then Veronica walks up. She wraps her arm around my waist and says:  
“Hi, Mr. Cook. Waiting for Jackie?”  
“Hi, Veronica. Yes, actually. Have you seen her?”  
“She was just with Wallace. I’m sure she’ll be out in a minute.”  
“Thanks. Hey Veronica?”  
“Yes?”  
“Can I talk to you in private for a minute?”  
“Of course.”

She kisses me on the cheek and walks away with him. She’s gone about five minutes before she comes back. We get in the car and I say:  
“What did he want?”  
“To make sure you weren’t forcing me to do anything I didn’t want to do.”  
“He thought I was forcing you to date me? Does he know how much of a pain in the ass you are?”  
“Yes, actually. He does.”  
“I wouldn’t…I mean, you don’t feel like…”  
“Like you’ve forced me into a relationship? No, honey.”  
“Are you sure? I mean, you were only 17 when we started dating…I should have waited until you were older…”

(I can feel myself spiralling, but I can’t help it.)

“Donald Lamb. Look at me.”

I turn and look at her.  
“I love you. You did not force me into any relationship. I have loved you since I was 14 and practically had to drag you into a relationship with me kicking and screaming. What other people think doesn’t matter to me. Why does it matter to you?”  
“I don’t know…My father was a horrible person, my brother is a horrible person, I’m a horrible person. I just don’t trust myself with you.”  
“This is not the ideal location for this conversation, but listen to me carefully. You are not a horrible person. And I trust you completely with me. One day, I plan on marrying you, so stop hating on yourself and don’t listen to people who don’t know us.”

I just stare at her for a minute.  
“I’m sorry, did you just say you plan on marrying me someday?”  
“Yeah…Like way down the road…Don’t get too excited mister.”  
I lean over and kiss her.  
“I love you.”  
“I love you too. Let’s go buy your suit.”

**************************  
**************************

When we leave the store, Don has a suit. We opted for a vest instead of a jacket (because goddamn he looked good in it) in a dark grey, and a light purple shirt with a dark purple tie.

“I can’t believe you are making me wear purple.”  
“Why? You look amazing in it. And you did say I would get the final say in what you wore.”  
“So you did it just to spite me?”  
“Yup. That’s totally the reason.”

We went to homecoming and had a great time. A couple of weeks later, Dad won the sheriff election. 

Don came to work with me at Mars Investigations, we helped Duncan leave the country with his and Meg’s baby, and we figured out that Cassidy Casablancas was behind the bus crash.

I graduated from high school and Dad waited until after the ceremony to arrest Eli for Thumper’s murder, so Letty could watch him graduate.

I did my first year of university at Hearst, living with Don. For my second year, I transferred to Stanford where I stayed until I finished law school. Don and I stayed together the whole time, doing the long-distance relationship thing. Once I graduated from law school I moved back home to Neptune…to Don. We got married a couple of months later.


End file.
